Compassion
by tilinelson2
Summary: Shir is trying to "teach a lesson" to someone who has humiliated her, but she meets someone unexpected.
1. An Unexpected Meeting

A feminine figure sneaks into the store unnoticed. "These fools think they can humiliate me and go unpunished, they will see!" She spots the alarm, climbs over a steel pipe, takes her dagger and cuts two of the wires of the alarm. "Haha, look, they leave the alarm wires exposed, they are such a fools, I can't believe it! It will be a piece of cake." With the alarm disabled, she gains free access to the store rooms. She turns her pocket flashlight on to shed some light in the dark room, but it is almost not needed. She had been through these corridors many times and she knew exactly what she wanted. "Let me guess... I'm sure the alarm on the counter is as badly designed as the door alarm was..." She quickly moves to the main counter where many expensive shining jewels lighted the room, reflecting the faint light of her small flashlight. Arriving there, she searches for the alarm in the counter. It was badly designed as well, with its circuits exposed outside the counter. She takes her dagger again and cuts two exposed wires with her dagger. Then she notices a fragile lock preventing the counter drawer being opened. "Haha, that is the most stupid security measure I've ever seen. How can a sane person think this lock can stop a thief? Well, it could only be the idea of that moron." She inserts the sharp point of her dagger into the lock and it snaps quickly. "Finally! That stupid man didn't let me put my hands in his jewels and made a scandal inside his store to make me few ashamed. Now let's see how that jerk will feel when he discovers all his jewels are gone!" She, then, opens the counter drawer and takes all the valuable jewels she could carry, putting them into her pouch. In the process, she leaves some of the jewels fall on the floor, but she doesn't care, she is not taking the jewels for money. "Do they think they can humiliate Shir of the Winds? Let's see who will be smiling and who will be crying tomorrow". She ensures herself she didn't forget anything before turning to leave. She then turns off the flashlight, as it is not need anymore. She is radiant and starts whistling very lightly a tune while she takes the way out of the store. "That was so easy that it wasn't even so exciting. But I can't wait to come here tomorrow and see that fat old jerk´s face when he discovers what happened to his beloved jewels." As she passes near a steel pipe, she hears a faint click.  
She doesn't care, but then she feels a pull in her left wrist. Thinking her watch must have got stuck, she tries to pull her arm, but she feels a pain on the wrist. She then notices that there is something grabbing her wrist. She becomes irritated and draws her dagger just in the moment a strong flashlight pointed to her eyes blinds her. "Drop off your dagger. The game is over for you, girl."  
"What! What is that? Stop this joke!"  
As the flashlight was aimed to another spot other than her eyes, she could see a blonde girl, dressed as a guardian, who looked younger than her, but had a serious and somber expression in her face. She could see as well that her left wrist was handcuffed to a steel pipe, so she couldn't escape.  
"Didn't you understand? You are under arrest. Drop your dagger and you will not end hurt."  
"Hey, you must be joking! Under arrest? Why?"  
"Don't play the smarty! Where are you going with all those jewels stolen? Will you say they are yours? Come on, stop wasting my time and I'll not make the things more difficult to you."  
"Stolen jewels? Jewels? What jewels?"  
"Those falling from your pouch."  
"I'm not stealing them."  
"Really? What were you doing? Taking them to clean in your home and bringing them back tomorrow? Drop the knife now!"  
Shir, scared as she has never been in her life let the knife fall from her right hand. Then, paralyzed with fear, she started trying to come out with another excuse. "If I am arrested, I'm doomed. Imagine the shame..."  
"Hey, I was taking these jewels, but I'm not a thief!"  
"Really?"  
"Yes, I'm not. I can pay for all these jewels, look!" Shir takes a roll of meseta bills from her pouch and throws into the floor. "I'm rich. My dad is able to buy this whole store with the change in his pocket."  
Surprised to see so much money in front of her, the guardian realizes she is not dealing with a common thief.  
"Whew! I've never seen so much money together in my entire life! Why didn't you wait till morning for your dad to buy the whole store for you?"  
"Baby, you can't understand. I don't know how could you be more agile than me, but you surely is not the least smart. Do you think me, in all my elegance, will want to buy these tacky jewels?"  
The guardian, growing irritated with the green-haired girl's impertinence, replied in a severe tone. "What were you doing here, so? Who are you?"  
"Don't you know me? Oh, were do you come from? I have already noticed you were not classy, but I didn't know you were such an ignorant. I'm Shir Gold, baby. G-O-L-D! Will you say you don't know who the Golds are?"  
"I don't and I don't care, but now the Gold surname will be known in the prison as well. I will call the guys to take you to your new home. Guys there will know how to treat Gold's daughter better than me."  
Shir was trembling with fear of being arrested. She always had enjoyed the thrills of stealing, just for the sake of stealing. But she never thought of being really arrested. "Oh my, where did this girl come from? How can she be faster than me, to have me caught? How is it possible that I go to jail? Is there any humiliation greater than that?"  
"Why did you do that? I just can't understand."  
"Please, help me. I regret doing what I have done. Let me return the jewels, so we can forget about that."  
"Not so easy, smarty. I don't know why did you steal these jewels, but it is not my job to understand the motives of the bandits, I just arrest them."  
"Look, you may have never faced a situation like that, but I was humiliated by the store owner yesterday. He made a scandal because I touched the jewels without his permission. He is a jerk and I was really feeling bad. You don't have a reputation, but I do have, so I considered playing this prank on him to avenge the humiliation I've suffered."  
"And do you think it right to steal?"  
"I enjoy stealing for the thrills of stealing, my regular life is so boring."  
"Good, then you will love the thrills of being in jail."  
"Please, don't do it, agent... what is your name?"  
"It doesn't matter to you!"  
"Right, but you know it is not fair. I'm not a bad person. Can't you see that? Aren't you a smart agent?"  
The guardian was tired of the arrogance and pretentiousness of the green-haired girl, but she could see despair in her blue eyes. She considers for some time the situation. "My duty is to arrest her. But I've already released other innocent people when needed, even when law said I shouldn't." "Well, I shouldn't, but I'll give you another chance. Take all the jewels back from where you've got them and leave this place immediately. If I ever catch you again, I'll show no mercy."  
"Oh, I'm deeply thankful. Take away this handcuff, it hurts."  
The guardian picks a key in her belt and unlocks the handcuffs. While doing that, she pushes Shir to the floor, to prevent her from trying to attack. "Hey!"  
"Shut up your mouth and hurry before I lose my patience and change my mind."  
"All right, but stop doing that. My dad will sue you and you will lose your job."  
The guardian decided to ignore Shir. The green-haired girl, still in shock, moves to the counter. She puts her hand into her pouch, take some of the jewels out, opens the drawer counter and throws the contents of her hand in rage. She inserts her hand again in the pouch and throws more jewels in the counter drawer. Some of them fall on the floor, but she doesn't care. Then she returns to where the guardian is, in order to take her dagger and her flashlight.  
"Hey, not so fast. Are you sure you have emptied your pouch?"  
"Damn!" Shir screams and then takes her pouch, turns it with the opening down and some more jewels fall on the floor. "Damn you! I hate you! It is empty now! May I leave this hellish place now?"  
"As you please, Miss Gold ."  
So Shir takes her belongings from the floor and leaves the store from the same window she has got in before. The guardian exits the store through the same window, shuts it and stays in front of the store, waiting for the thief to go away.  
"Now I'll call the officers, so you better run away if you don't want to enjoy the thrills of the jail."  
"Stop picking on me! My father will sue you! Luckily I'll never see your face again!"  
Shir starts walking slowly down the alley. The guardian turns her back to Shir to rearrange her belongings. Shir was mad. "I can't let this humiliation go unpunished! This humiliation was much greater than the one in the store in the morning! How I hate this girl! Shir of the Winds beaten by a mere girl. I can't believe it!" Shir then turns her head to look at the guardian and notices she is with her back facing her. Without thinking, she takes her dagger and thrust at the guardian. As the dagger blade was almost touching the guardian's neck, Shir screams "You w..." But the guardian, to Shir's surprise, dodges in a fast movement, parries the blow with her left arm, swings her body round Shir's and throws her with force on the ground. With her weight and her left arm, the guardian immobilizes Shir on the floor and, with her right hand, she draws her own dagger and presses its point over Shir's jugular, with force enough to cause a great deal of pain and just slightly less force than it would be needed to sever the vein. Shir didn't have the time to understand what was going on, so fast the guardian did her whole movement.  
"What do you expect me to do now? Do you wanna die? Is it, do you wanna die?"  
Shir is so frightened that she can't answer. "Oh, I'm dead!" Tears start flowing from Shir's blue eyes and the guardian can see all the pain, sorrow, regret and fear into her eyes. In a burst of rage, the guardian barks at Shir.  
"Do you expect me to show mercy? Listen that, I take no prisoners, do you understand? No prisoners! It is the end for you, your spoiled ..."  
Tears kept flowing from Shir's eyes. She was unable to react. She only thinks "I'm dead, dead." Then she feels the pressure in her neck soften. In a second the guardian stands up, releasing Shir. Shir stays on the floor, she can't react and she can't believe she is still alive.  
"Stand up, girl, and run away from here, without looking back. And never, ever mess with me again. Next time I will show you no mercy, I swear."  
Shir, still in shock from the deep emotions from the last minutes, slowly gets up, picks her dagger, puts it on her pouch and slowly walks away. She turns her head back and stares for a moment the guardian. She wanted to ask her why she didn't kill her, but she didn't have the courage. Besides, it was not needed. She could see, hidden in the angry and somber look of the guardian, a touch of heavenly compassion into her blue eyes, coming from the depths of her soul. 


	2. An Unexpected Second Meeting

The newcomer caused quite a stir on Paseo streets. Having just left the Teleport Station, the green-haired beauty was dressed to cause quite an impression. And she really did. Her tight tube dress was just two inches longer than nakedness. The dress had been carefully chosen. As she walked, the movement made it become just one inch from nakedness. And her walking, over her high-heels, was full of movement. Her short green hair and her hips danced to the left and to the right, in synchrony, as she walked. She wore a red lipstick, making her mouth scream _kiss me_. She also wore golden bracelets and earrings. She was looking so good that no man could resist staring at her, even if it was for just some seconds. As most of men in Paseo were just lazing around, the newcomer was the main attraction of the day.

Her careless attitude dazzled the audience. She acted as if she was unaware of the hordes of old men with jaw-dropped expressions. She smiled inside herself, though, as she walked down the streets of the Motavian capital, carrying an expensive and fashionable handbag. She was used to wear plain clothes that enabled her to mix with the crowd after doing one of her favorite misdemeanors: stealing for fun. But she knew how to dress when she wanted to cause an impression. That day, she wanted to cause an impression. Not on the lazy people who lived without working. Not on the old men who couldn't hide their amusement. She had a clear goal on her mind.

She was tired of committing her pleasure-robberies. She wanted something more exciting. She wanted to enjoy the thrills of something really dangerous. Stealing was not thrilling anymore as she had mastered all the skills required for shoplifting. She already had something in her mind. She would say the sunny and cool climate was a perfect indication that her new plan would work if most of the days were not artificially made to be sunny and cool. Deep inside her cool air, she was anxious. Despite her overconfidence, something inside her was warning her of a serious threat to her plans.

As she caught a glimpse of the steel facade of the house, with the numbers 2 and 7 hanging on the wall, she smiled. _"Now I'll start a new and exciting thing! Wow, can't wait to be journeying through the planet to solve the most thrilling mysteries! And if this Rolf is half good-looking as he was on that picture, I'll not mind mixing pleasure and business!" _

There was a knock on the door. In the living room, two tall men where excitedly watching a soccer match on the large 3D-holographic TV. One of the guys jump from the couch.

"Damn! Hav' ye see dat? Rudo, if dat wazznota' a-foul, we hav' tunid on da wrung channel! It was a-like a kung-fu kicka!"

"Yeah, that referee is very bad. He thinks that just because the match had just started, he doesn't have to signal fouls."

"If tha' moron a-kip do-in tha', de guyz will-a beat hinnup!"

A man came from the kitchen, holding a handheld computer in his hands.

"Rudo! Kain! Did you hear a knock on the door?"

"Sorry, Rolf. I was not paying attention."

"Why dont'cha a-join us, Rolf? The Kueri Ranjaars will trash Zema's FC"

"Sorry, Kain, I've no time for that today. I must plan our visit to Uzo island." Rolf scratched his head. "Are you sure you didn't hear anything?"

"Nope."

"Alright". Rolf turned his back in order to return to the kitchen, but he had not started moving when he heard a more vigorous knock on the door.

"Heya, Rolf..."

"I've heard it, Kain."

Rudo and Kain turned their attention back to the soccer game, while Rolf went straight to the door. The intercom screen showed the image of an unknown woman standing by the door, with her arms crossed on her chest and an expression of irritation stamped on her face. "_Who can it be? I've never seen this woman_." Rolf judged it was not dangerous to ask her personally, so he pressed the button to unlock the door.

The studded-steel door released its usual wind sound as the pneumatic valves emptied, raising the steel door. Rolf's eyes met a pretty girl in a pin-up pose, laying by the door jamb with her right arm up, her head tilted to the left and her left index finger touching her crimson lower lip.

"Rolf Landale?" The girl asked with a sweet inquisitive voice and a careless tone.

"It is me."

"_Wow! He is really a hottie!_" The girl changed her pose and took a dominant attitude. "Hello, Rolf!" She took a good look at him, from the face to his legs and then back to his face. "You are just as handsome as they say."

Her devil-may-care attitude didn't betray any embarrassment. Rolf, on the other hand, blushed at her remark. "I'm Shir Gold. Of course you know me, don't you?" Shir pushed Rolf's shoulder in a friendly manner. Her attitude made Rolf feel uncomfortable.

"What do you want... Shir?"

"Well, I am a thief. I care little for peace and justice. I steal for fun and frankly, I think your little outing will be packed with thrills for me. Stealing has become boring with all those lousy shopkeepers. Even an 800-pound gorilla dressed as Carmen Miranda could get out of these stores unnoticed. That is why I'm here, I think I'd like to go with you."

Rolf was shocked by the naturallity of the girl confessing to a stranger she was a thief. "_That must be a joke, one of those candid camera things..._"

"So?" Shir assumed another pin-up expression, with an inquisitive face.

"So what?" Rolf was clearly confused.

"What about me... and you... together." Shir said so as she pointed to herself and to Rolf in a suggestive way.

"Well..." Rolf scratches his head, his face betrays discomfort. "Shir, isn't it? What we are doing here is very serious..."

Shir put the palm of her right hand over Rolf's chest, closed her eyes and turned her face from him. "Stop! Stop! Stop! Don't waste my time with your sermon. I'll not be listening."

"Well... Shir..." Rolf avoided eye contact with the girl by looking down. "Well... I think you misunderstood our business. I cannot admit you in the group..."

Shir was less than pleased with the answer, by she didn't panic, as she knew it wasn't all lost. She shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, if you didn't want any help, you should have told me from the start. I don't care, anyway, your mission must be the greatest bore in the last fifty years." She turned her back to Rolf and started walking away, with heavy steps, holding her handbag tightly.

"No, wait! I didn't mean that..."

"Oh, great!" Shir turned back to Rolf, kissed his cheek, making sure she properly squeezed her chest on his arm and then gently pushed Rolf from her way. "So where is my room?"

Rolf rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. _"It is no use, I'll have to admit this crazy girl..." _"Are you sure you want to come? It will be dangerous..."

"Ah, don't worry!" Shir turned to Rolf and lifted the skirt of her dress, revealing a small dagger by her hips, tucked inside her lace panties. She also revealed more skin than Rolf was comfortable with. "I know how to take care of myself. I'm deadly with these."

Rolf closed his eyes and nodded silently, thinking in the ambiguity of her last sentence. "Well, Shir. I'll let you come with us, under one condition: each member of the group has to accept you."

"Oh, no problems, I'm sure they will." Shir left Rolf behind, with an overconfident expression and acted as if the house was hers. Soon she met Rudo and Kain, who were watching TV.

"Dawg! Can' beliuve it! Even ma granma wud scor' dat a-goal!" Kain jumped from the couch, with an irritated expression. His eyes met the green-haired girl entering the house in a hurry. "Whoa!"

"Hello, I'm Shir!" She went straight to the couch and kiseed Kain's cheek. "Pleased to meet you." _"I'm really pleased, all these guys are hot." _Then, turning her attention to Rudo, who had just noticed her, she kissed his cheek as well. "I'm your new companion. Is it OK for you?"

"Well, yeah..." Rudo was very confused with the sudden appearance of the girl and her go-getter approach.

"So see you around." Shir turned to Rolf and winked at him. _"That will be easier than I thought. And all these handsome guys... if I knew, I'd have come long before..."_.

Shir then crossed the door that separated the living room from the kitchen. Rolf tried to say something, but was unable. She acted so fast that he didn't know what to say or do to counteract her bold moves. _"Man! What am I doing?"_. On the couch, Rolf and Kain were still trying to digest what has happened.

"Gosh! Shisss damn gorgious, Rudy!" Kain had his mouth open.

"Well, yeah." Rudo was still seated, with a confused look on his face.

"Did ya see dat dresshs? Dat ligs?"

"Definitely, she is something!" Rudo was excited, though his cool expression didn't show it.

Rolf followed Shir out of the room, leaving the two alone.

"Well, yeah, I a-feel as ifa wass siin' dat 'ips shakin' in frontof ma ey' s."Kain looked mesmerized.

"So you are not thinking on Nei anymore?" Rudo releases a brief laughter.

"Ssshhhhh! Ar' ye mad? Rolf waz 'ere righ' now!" Kain was mad at Rudo

"Sorry, chap!"

"If Rolf dizco' ers I'm in a-luv with Nei, he will shuv his swurd... down ma throat!"

"Yeah."

"Ye know, I a-am 'ere for Nei, but I wudn´ rul´out thi new on'. Ye musta a-hav alwiss a B plan."

"B plan... that is good..."

"Shucks! Zema´s scorid une an me didn´t sii it! De guy mustav bin offside..."

As the two guys resumed watching TV, Shir made a loud entrance in the kitchen. "Hello, people!". On the aluminium table, there were many electronic and scientific devices. One man was looking something at an electronic microscope screen while a woman helped him preparing experiments. At Shir´s loud entrance, the man was startled.

"What the..."

"Hello, cute boy, I´m Shir. Nice to meet you!" Shir walked to the man and hugged him from behind, giving him a kiss on his cheek. The man was irritated and now confused as well. He turned his head to look at the girl and was startled again by the sight of her outfit. _"Wow!"_ Shir turned to the other girl and kissed her cheeks.

"Hello! I am Shir!"

"Hi... I´m Amy" The other woman answered shyly, feeling uncomfortable by Shir´s outgoing manners.

"I´m your new companion!"

"Nice." Amy was less than excited. "Well, you interrupted us. We were studying biomonster tissues."

"So you are scientists..." Shir had an expression of disgust. At the same moment, Rolf entered the kitchen.

"Looks like you have already met Shir."

"Hell, yeah, she almost made me break the microscope." Hugh was irritated and crossed his arms.

"What does she do, anyway?" Amy asked Rolf, with a displeased expression on her face..

"I am a thief! I love to steal things!" Shir answered as if being a thief was a common job.

"A what? Thief? Rolf!" Amy is indignant. She stood up, with her arms crossed and a less than pleased expression on her face.

"Yes, a thief. Let´s see what I´ve got here..." Shir opened a wallet and took a card from inside it. "Let´s see... Hugh Thompson... a cute name! Biologist? Meh!"

Hugh started searching his pockets desperately. Then, he stood up violently, his face was red, as he barked to Shir. "Hey, it is my wallet!"

"Oh, oh, cool off, big guy." Shir was very calm. "Here, take it, I´ll not steal anything from you..." Shir leaned on Hugh and returned the wallet to his pocket, making sure she squeezed her chest on his body. "... except for you heart, honey." Shir whispered in his ear in a way only Hugh could listen.

Hugh was surprised by Shir. He lost all his anger at once. He was not used to be treated by girls that way, as he had a very introspective persona. It was as if he had been put under a spell when he heard Shir sweetly whisper 'honey' in his ear. His heart started racing and he sweated. _"Wow! This girl is amazing."_

"_I´ve made it, I have him on my hands now. Well, he is cute, I have a crush for his intellectual style. I just hope my friends in Piata never discover that. Now it is time to deal with the girl, but it will be easy." _Shir grinned. She turned to Amy. "I loved your dress. You look really sweet on it."

"Seriously?" Amy was disarmed by Shir´s flattery and lost her suspicious gaze.

"Yes, you look very good on it." Shir looked like the most innocent girl in the world, but her thoughts didn´t reflect her actions. "_Meh, she is so old-fashioned that not even my great-grandmother would wear something like that."_. "You must be a lovely woman. What do you work at?"

"I´m a doctor." Amy blushed at Shir´s flattery and looked down to avoid eye contact.

"Really? That is lovely! My father has many friends who are doctors. Do you know Dr. Lanzies? He was always dining with us." Shir countenance showed deep interest in the subject, though she loathed it.

"Dr. Mark Lanzies? The Motavia Secretary of State for Health? I can´t believe it!" Amy stared at Shir with her eyes shining.

"Oh, I can present you to him one of these days." Shir acted as if that was a trivial affair for her, with a careless wave of hands.

"Oh, nice!" Amy clasped her hands together. She had a big grin on her face and seemed to be under a spell.

"Well, girls..." Rolf felt a bit lost. "Sorry to interrupt your interesting conversation, but I came here to ask you Amy, and you Hugh, if you oppose the idea of Shir joining us."

"Of course not!" Amy and Hugh answered in a chorus, immediately. Then they felt embarrassed for that.

"Well, great. Let´s get going, Shir, they are doing some important research here." Rolf motioned Shir to follow him.

"Excuse-me, I interrupted you. Well, see you around." Shir turned her back on them waving her hands, in a very natural manner, as if they were old acquaintances and followed Rolf out of the kitchen.

Amy turned to Hugh, still puzzled. "What do you think about this Shir?"

"She..." Hugh was caught in surprise. Amy could see infatuation in his eyes. "She looks nice..."

"Well, she is a bit strange... Do you think she is really a thief?"

"I don't know... she had taken my wallet, but that seemed just a playful trick to me." Hugh's countenance betrayed confusion.

"Well, if Rolf trusts her, who are us to say anything?" Amy shrugged. Then they returned to their seats and resumed working with the biomonster tissue samples.

In the main aisle, Rolf was leading Shir through the house. Shir put her arms around Rolf's neck and followed him closely. Rolf was uncomfortable with Shir's hold.

"Well, now let's see what my sister thinks of you."

Shir was a bit surprised. "_Sister? I didn't expect that. If I can have her trust, I'm in. If not..." _Shir released her hold on Rolf and tried to dismiss any negative feelings from her mind.

Rolf stopped by the door of one room. It was open, so he got inside. He looked at at the surroundings, but it looked like there was no one inside "Nei?"

"Yes?"

Rolf looked up and saw the pointy-eared girl on the ceiling, rubbing a cloth on a dark spot. Shir looked up and was surprised. It looked like the girl was floating on the air.

"Nei? What are you doing up there?" Rolf was in a mix of surprise and irritation.

"Oh, Rolf, I'm cleaning a dark spot on the ceiling. It was annoying me. I stayed staring at it through most of the night and couldn't sleep." Nei answered coolly, not understanding her brother's irritation.

"Huh... hello?" Shir entered the room shyly. She examined the room and felt a sense of relief when she noticed that the girl was not floating. She had her feet on the top of the wardrobe. Even so, her position showed unnatural strength and balance for a human.

"We have a new woman in the group, Nei." Rolf was still annoyed to see Nei calmly rubbing the cloth on the ceiling and became irritated. "Nei, can you come down here for a moment?"

"Oh, Rolf, you don't need to shout!" Nei leapt from the top of the wardrobe and fell on her feet, in front of Shir, who as a bit scared by the aerial acrobacy. She was more scared to see Nei's claws in her hands. Nei grinned at her, while cleaning her hands in her apron. "Oh, will you be joining us? That is great."

Shir was a bit reassured by Nei's smile and went to kiss her cheek, though less excitedly than with the others. "So you are Rolf's sister? I was anxious to meet you. You are so lovely!" _"And weird. How can she be Rolf's sister?"_

Shir was still uncomfortable with Nei's unusual features, but she tried to be nice to the girl. Rolf was relieved to see that Shir apparently was not shocked by Nei being a biomonster. "Well, Nei, what do you think?"

"Think about..." Nei looked at her brother with an inquisitive face.

"About her joining our group." Rolf was impatient.

"Ah!" Nei's gaze lost all the worry. "If she really wants to come with us, that is fine. The more people helping us, the better."

Shir was relieved to hear that Nei was not a bit concerned about her character. She felt sympathy for the numan girl. "_Well, she doesn't look threatening. She is even good-looking. Gorgeous, I'd say. But I don't have to worry, as she is Rolf's sister..._"

"Well, let's get going." Rolf motioned Shir to follow him.

"Wait!" Nei stretched her arms towards Shir. "Leave your bag here. This will be your room."

"Alright." Shir handed Nei her handbag, feeling she turned her back and followed Rolf to the door. She heard some noises and looked back. Nei had jumped on the bed, then on the wardrobe and in less than one second she was brushing the dark spot on the ceiling again. Shir turned her head again and followed Rolf out of the room.

"What did you think of my sister?" Rolf asked as soon as they left the room.

"_We are stepping into a dangerous territory now. I must be careful." _Shir was a bit worried. "She is lovely, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is." Rolf seemed displeased with Shir's noncommittal answer.

"Though she doesn't look like you..." Shir's voice was filled with tension.

"Yes. Do you have problems with that?" Rolf suddenly stopped and turned to Shir, staring intently at her eyes, scaring her.

"No... No problems..."

"Aren't you worried that my foster-sister is a biomonster?" Rolf crossed his arms and kept staring deeply at Shir's face.

"Is she?" Shir's voice denoted discomfort. "She looks normal..."

Rolf tapped his foot noisily on the floor. He knew she was lying.

"Oh... Rolf... why would I be worried? She is your sister, isn't she? For me she is like anybody else." Shir chose her words carefully, though she spoke in a steady manner in order to not sound artificial.

"Are you being sincere, Shir? Can I trust you?" Rolf's tone changed from angry to worried, as he frowned.

"Yeah, of course!" Shir hugged Rolf tightly in order to disarm him. "I'm a thief, but I'm not an evil person. I'd never do any harm to your sister."

"Well, I see..." Rolf tried to free himself from her embrace, but he didn't really want it, as he felt pleasure in feeling the warm touch of Shir's body. After some seconds, he finally pushed Shir gently. "I'm always afraid people will do some harm to Nei. Many times people yelled at her, attacked her and even tried to kill her..."

"Don't worry, Rolf. I like her. I'll help you protecting her."

Shir saw Rolf's eyes shining with her last words. "_Well, I've made it! I don't have anything against Nei, but my last words were exactly what Rolf wanted to hear. Nothing can prevent me from joining the group now."_

Rolf resumed walking, followed by Shir. Shir was overconfident again, catwalking down the aisle as as model. Rolf led the way straight to the end of the aisle, where the laundry was. As they were reaching the laundry, they could hear the sound of the washing machine and another sound of metal scratching some hard surface. Rolf knocked the door jamb and entered the laundry. "Excuse me..."

"Don't worry." A mysterious woman's voice answered, calmly.

Shir entered the laundry and looked at the woman. Her eyes met a blonde girl seated in a bench by the wall, with her left leg on the bench. She was wearing a dark blue dress, not so short as the one Shir was wearing, but her position on the bench revealed as much of her legs as Shir's dress naturally revealed. The woman was holding one slasher leaned on her left knee. She was sharpening its blade with a whetstone, which she held with her right hand. Her golden curly hair was hanging down her face, hiding it from view.

Shir felt an immediate antipathy for the girl _"Hmmm, looks like I'll have competition here. And an unfair competition. Look at her legs! And with breasts large as that, she will always steal all the attention for her! I'll have to do something about that!"_

"Anna, can I have a brief talk with you?" Rolf tone was unusually polite.

"_Damn! She had already stole Rolf's. Look the way he talks to her!" _Shir's face couldn't hide her anger.

"For sure." Anna slowly tilted her head up, revealing her blue eyes.

"Yikes!" Shir jumped up, scared. Her heart started racing like mad, she started trembling. Her scream startled Rolf, who looked at her, and then back to Anna, trying to ignore Shir's odd behavior, as he was getting used to her mannerisms. _"She will ruin everything! From all the women in the world, it had to be her! That damned guardian!"_

"Well, this girl wants to join our group..."

"Shir Gold, isn't it?" Anna interrupted Rolf, grinning at Shir while she rearranged her hair, making her face perfectly visible.

"Do you know her?" Rolf was confused, alternating his stare between the girls.

"I've met her once..." Anna answered in a nonchalant way and turned her attention back to her slasher blade.

"And is it fine for you?" Rolf was still surprised as he never expected girls with such different personalities would know each other.

"Yeah, if it is fine for you." Anna's coolness frightened Shir. She resumed sharpening the slasher blade.

"Well..." Rolf turned his attention to Shir, who was paralyzed with fear. "No one has anything against you, Shir, so that means you are now part of the group."

"Gre... great..." Shir was trembling.

"Well, gotta go now, must get our trip ready. Will talk to you later about our mission. Feel free to ask anything to any of us." Rolf turned his back to Shir and started leaving the room.

"Tha... anks..." Shir's voice was almost inaudible.

Shir stayed still, trying to understand what had just happened. Many things were on her mind, specially the memories of her previous encounter with the guardian. She remembered of how the guardian caught her on the act, how she tried to kill the guardian and how the guardian almost killed her. She also remembered the compassion in the eyes of the woman when she released her.

"Why... why... didn't you... sa-say... any... thing...?" Shir's voice was trembling, together with her whole body.

"Why should I?" Anna answered without taking her eyes from her slasher.

"Is it... OK... for you?" Shir was still trembling and now confused.

"Yes."

"We.. well... I'm going... to the kitchen..." Shir turned her back to leave the laundry, as she was feeling completely disturbed by the presence of the guardian who frustrated her robbery years before.

"Shir?" The sound of metal being rubbed at the whetstone stopped for a second.

Shir was startled. She had a hard time to control herself to be able to leave the room and now the voice of the guardian calling her made her almost lose her balance. "Wha... what...?"

"Do you think you are up to the task we are about to perform?" Anna's voice was very calm. She didn't take her eyes from her slasher and resumed sharpening its blade.

"Y... ye... yes..." Shir was afraid as she had never been before, but when Anna was pressing the point of her dagger in Shir's throat during their first encounter.

"Good."

Anna kept sharpening the blade of her slasher, not caring for the presence of the thief in the room. Shir waited for some time, just to see if Anna would ask her something else, but it seemed to her that Anna was unaware of her presence in the room. She started leaving the room very slowly and noiselessly, trying to control her limbs, which were still shaking.

Finally Shir was able to leave the laundry. She walked back to the kitchen. She wanted to drink some water and relax. "_I know I should be rejoicing to be admitted in the group, to be able to live thrilling experiences in company of these hotties. But I didn't want this experience to be so traumatic! This woman again... I can't understand her. I can't understand why she hadn't killed me back then when I tried to kill her and I can't understand why she didn't tell anything about me to Rolf today. Now I'll have to endure her presence everyday. I don't know if it is something I'll be able to cope with. Just to think of her gives me creeps... Well, that is something I'll have to endure... There is no going back. I wish I was able to understand her... to understand her..."_


End file.
